Slain FBI Agents Had Spent Careers Fighting for Kids

It was "an awful day in FBI history" on Tuesday, per a former FBI official, after a shooter killed two FBI agents and injured three others while a search warrant on violent crimes against children was being served in a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Now, the two who died while carrying out their duties in Sunrise have been identified, per NBC News. In a Tuesday statement, FBI Director Christopher Wray named Special Agents Daniel Alfin, 36, and Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, who'd dedicated their careers to fighting child pornography. "Every day, FBI special agents put themselves in harm's way to keep the American people safe," Wray said. "Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defense of their country." The Washington Post notes that between the two of them, Alfin and Schwartzenberger had almost 30 years of combating child exploitation and abuse.

Frank Figliuzzi, a former assistant director for the FBI, says carrying out search warrants in cases involving child porn or pedophilia can be a high-risk endeavor. "The risk is elevated because that person's reputation in the community will be lost in that instant," he tells NBC. George Piro, the special agent who heads up the FBI's Miami Field Office, paid tribute to his fallen colleagues at a Tuesday presser. "Dan and Laura left home this morning to carry out the mission they signed up for and loved to do—to keep the American people safe. ... They will forever be heroes." Alfin is survived by a wife and child, while Schwartzenberger leaves behind a husband and two children. Wray added in his statement that of the three injured FBI agents, two remain hospitalized in stable condition, while the third didn't need treatment at a hospital, per CBS Miami. The suspect in the shooting is believed to have killed himself at the scene, law enforcement officials say. (More FBI agent stories.)